An inspiring story of hope and triumph in the face of adversity, though with a plotline that sometimes strains credulity.

Director: Macauley Peterson

Writer: Ian Rogers

Stars: Hikaru Nakamura, Magnus Carlsen

Storyline:

Nakamura v Carlsen is a two-hander set in Switzerland, featuring a Rocky-style character, Nakamura, trying to defeat the Nordic Champion Carlsen against whom he has fought and lost many times previously.

By the time these two have belted out their rousing final numbers, you do not have a typical Hollywood ending, but you have gained insight into, and respect for, both protagonists.

Plot key words: chess, World Champion, outplay, blunder, cry

Genre: Musical

Parental guide: Not suitable for young children or music lovers

Full Story:

Nakamura and Carlsen are joint leaders of the highest category chess tournament in history. Both enter the stage together. The opening stanza strongly resembles that from Anand v Carlsen – The World Championship but then this musical goes out on its own.

“26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” - Michael Jordan

Did You Know?

The tournament where this musical was set contained four other players – Aronian, Anand, Gelfand and Caruana – giving the event an average rating of 2801, the highest in history.

User Reviews (1)

Eight stars

2nd February by Fianchetto

While clearly superior to the overrated Chess – The Musical, this tear-jerker provides only a snapshot of the ups and downs endured by the hero Nakamura in Zurich 2014.

While some may leave the theatre believing Nakamura to be a loser, the day before his epic battle against Carlsen, Nakamura had defeated former World Champion Anand with panache. (I am not sure that he didn't go on to win the tournament - http://www.zurich-cc.com/ provides the action from 7am AEST.)

The musical numbers are wildly inconsistent – why anyone thought including a Dr. Hook song in such a production was a good idea is beyond me.

Nonetheless, the high quality performances by Nakamura and Carlsen in the luxurious setting of Zurich's venerable Savoy Hotel win you over in the end – one can see why they are considered top of their art form.